Memories in the Force
by Unvaliant
Summary: After the terrifying events of Order 66, Tallisibeth Enwandung-Esterhazy, better known as Scout, finds herself trapped inside the Jedi Temple alongside a young amnesiac Padawan.
1. Chapter 1

Scout wandered the Room of a Thousand Fountains aimlessly, closely resembling the fading shadows that loomed around her, fading in and out of existence with no clear purpose. Just like her. For a time, she had thought she was dead, bound to haunt the scorched rooms of the Jedi Temple until the heavens fell from the sky.

But she knew all too well what being alive felt like. Pain. Suffering. Grief.

Whie was dead. Scout had seen his body, an obscenely large gash scarring his chest, thrown to burn like the rest of the Temple. All she had left of him was his lightsaber, something she had scavenged in the past few days that she had been trapped inside the complex. It gave her something to cling to, even If she had no other reason to live.

Because she couldn't leave. Although the Temple had been for the most part abandoned, there were still scattered contingents of clone troopers roaming the halls, patrolling for any stragglers. Men Scout had fought alongside in the last year of the war. Less than a day ago they'd fired on some Jedi that had been foolish enough to return to the Temple. She hadn't seen them, only heard the relentless blaster fire that reminded her too much of the night everyone she cared about had died.

Maybe the Temple was some kind of sick purgatory, forcing her to walk amongst the remains of people she had once been friends with, until she grew so disgusted that she turned Whie's lightsaber on herself. Maybe then she'd be free. Or maybe she had to rescue what remaining bodies there were littering the Temple, bodies the clones hadn't burned yet, and create her own funeral pyre, burning alive while the dead burned around her, like some sort of cruel, sick joke.

That's what it felt like to her. A sick joke.

Both of her Masters had been torn from her by the war. And then her best friend. Along with everyone else. What was possibly the galaxy's cruelest trick was that the Jedi's one true hope, Anakin Skywalker, had fallen to the dark side, destroying whatever remnants of the Order he could get his hands on. It was as if the galaxy had conspired to take everyone who came into contact with her away, corrupt those who survived, and then reduce everything else to ashes for good measure.

The only reason she was alive was because she _ran. _When Anakin had come into the training room, Whie had saved her by pushing her out of the way before Anakin's blue blade ruthlessly swept down upon them like a shining scythe. Whie had tried to fight him, telling her all the time to run, to get clear, that his time had come, but she hadn't been able to bring herself to believe it, and watched as Anakin effortlessly knocked Whie's lightsaber aside, slashing him across his chest, exactly the way Whie had described from his dreams. Anakin had let her run past him, probably deeming her too weak to be any real threat, expecting her to die among the troopers.

But she _was_ alive. Maybe it was that very weakness in the Force that had spared her. Perhaps the Force was just some kind of sadistic cosmic power, experimenting in the number of ways it could make mortals kill each other, and laughing as those very same mortals worshipped it. What joy had the Force ever brought into her life? It had completely forsaken her, condemned Whie to death, and lured Anakin to the dark side. Maybe there was no light and dark, only suffering. Or maybe there was only dark.

Well, Force or no, she'd be free from it all soon enough.

She hadn't eaten anything since that night. The fountains no longer flowed with water. Scout doubted she'd last another five hours, let alone a day, without something to sustain her. But she'd never been one to give up so easily. There was still hope that she could find some way out of the Temple, and…and what? She couldn't think that far ahead. But Scout wasn't so far gone that she couldn't appreciate the bitter irony of the situation.

She'd spent her whole life striving to be a Jedi. It had taken her blood, sweat, and tears to make it happen, but she'd made it. Now, barely a year later, she was literally dying to leave the Temple.

The thought made her cackle, a harsh, cynical sound that fully expressed her state of mind right then. She briefly wondered if she'd descended into insanity. Again came the doubts.

Maybe this wasn't real. Maybe she wasn't real. Maybe-

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of clanking footsteps coming from the other end of the room. _Troopers._

The gigantic garden-room was dotted with doors leading to areas of the Temple, the nearest being the way to the Archives. Before the troopers could get a glimpse of her, she flew into the hallway leading to the library-and tripped over a datapad. She had to close her eyes to suppress her desire to vocalize the string of curses running through her mind, but she picked herself up and kept running.

Actually, she had no idea if the troopers had heard her or not. Those helmets were soundproof. They could have been crying during that horrible night and she wouldn't have known. How could they betray the Jedi they'd served so faithfully for nearly three years without any emotion whatsoever?

That confusion suddenly transformed into anger. Yes, _how could they? _A sudden desire for vengeance crept into her mind. Maybe _this_ was why she was still alive. To avenge all the people that were killed on that horrible night, to make sure that their deaths weren't in vain, to inflict the pain she felt so strongly upon _everyone else..._

_No. That's not the Jedi way. Even if I'm going to die here, I'm going to die a Jedi, like Master Maruk, like Whie…_

As she ran, she wept for the person Whie was before he was killed at the hands of Anakin. She wept for the deaths of her Masters. She wept for Anakin's betrayal, and for the destruction of the Jedi Order. She wept for herself… because she was afraid.

_I don't want to die. Is that normal for a Jedi? What happens to me? Am I going to be a ghost? Or am I just going to cease to exist? _

The thought frightened her. It was a horrible idea, the thought that everything she'd worked so hard for might not even matter.

But she didn't have time to philosophize about what death really was, because she had to find a decent place to hide inside the library. She cursed herself for a fool as she realized what a worthless place it was to escape from her pursuers. It was dark, yes, but as she ran inside she realized that if she hid behind any shelf, she'd be cornered on either side by the troopers, with no way out; the shelves reached all the way to the second floor, and unless she suddenly became strong enough in the Force to break through durasteel, she would be completely trapped. The sound of troopers' footsteps became more and more audible as she considered what she could do.

_Well, fine. _

Scout knew the layout of the library well enough. Before she'd been a Padawan she'd spent hours upon hours inside these walls, studying harder than everyone else just so she could become one. Unlike the others, she didn't have the luxury of natural Force-talent, and she needed some kind of edge over them. She had to get _creative._

Even now, her bright mind was already working out how she could fight a squad of troopers armed with nothing but two lightsabers, her minimal control over the Force, and whatever she could find in the library. At the same time, her eyes wandered over the Library, searching for escape routes and places where she could seek cover if it came down to an ambush.

At the back of the lengthy room was the vault where the Masters stored the holocrons. Padawans weren't allowed in there, _no one _except for the Council was allowed in there, but she doubted that there were any Masters left to scold her. Besides, these were extenuating circumstances she was dealing with. She hoped there would be better cover in there. At least there was only one entrance.

When she arrived in front of the doors, she cursed when she found it was locked. _Forget this. _Scout ignited her lightsaber and cut through the circular security door, forming an opening small enough for her thin body to crawl through.

_ Now I've gone and done it._

A second door blocked the way. That made her stop and think for a moment. _Seriously? _She cut through that door too. Mentally she entertained the image of troopers trying to get through the holes, stuck between the small crevice that separated the two security doors. She had to stifle a laugh.

Finally, she was in the security hall.

_Stang. _

Security lasers lanced across the low ceilinged, circular security hall. The Vault was only a short distance away-she could see the blue pulse of the holocrons-but she'd have to get past the lasers to get there. Normally she'd be acrobatic enough to get through them, but she was just so _exhausted._

_Well, if you're too tired, you could always go back and share your problems with the clones. I'm sure they'll be _so_ receptive. Maybe they'll even let you have some of their ration packs. Yummy._

Sarcasm was second nature to her now. So was cynicism.

_Okay, if there was ever a time to use the Force, this is it._

Scout took a deep breath, let what little Force energy she had envelop her body, and leaped. She was lithe enough to fit through the smallest openings between each set of lasers, and with the Force guiding her motions, she was able to land gracefully on the tips of her fingers before hurtling through the air towards the other side of the hallway. Scout landed on her feet, crouched and tensed, expecting some other trap, but when none came, she relaxed, letting her back slide against one of the shelves of holocrons. She was surprised to find that she felt _good._

It had been a while since she'd had the chance to lose herself in the intensity of the chase. Not since the Clone Wars, when she'd spent most of her missions chasing down suspected Separatist sympathizers and running for her life from hordes of battle droids. Fleeing from the troopers gave her the same feeling of exhilaration.

No, it wasn't just that. It was the Vault too.

The Vault was dark, lit only by the ephemeral blue glow of the holocrons that were lined up on the dilating racks around the dome-shaped room. It seemed smaller than she expected. Scout had thought that generations of Jedi wisdom would fill more than a couple of shelves in a small vault. Some of the shelves weren't even completely filled.

Maybe there wasn't that much wisdom to share. Not everyone lived as long as Master Yoda.

But she could _feel _the pure Force energy emanating from the holocrons, pulsing as the holocrons did, giving off waves of reassurance and confidence. The pangs of hunger vanished from her stomach, and all exhaustion was wiped from her bones. Entranced, she rose from the floor, moving towards the single pillar in the middle of the room. She could feel it calling towards her in the Force. It was unusual. Scout was lucky to feel _anything _in the Force. But the concentration of it was so great in this room, she half-believed she could defeat all of the troopers coming after her with a single Force push.

When she stood in front of the pillar, she realized that the sense of something calling out to her in the Force wasn't coming from the pillar itself, but from _behind _it. Scout walked around to the other side, slowly, not sure what to expect. Dimly she was aware of the clone troopers taking up positions outside to blast through the doors, and she ignited her lightsaber's sky blue blade.

What she found on the other side nearly made her drop it on the floor.

Lying down on the floor was a boy, a boy with dark, messy hair and a long braid signifying that he was-used to be-a Padawan. A Jedi. Suddenly he stirred, coming into consciousness with her presence.


	2. Chapter 2

He woke up screaming.

_They'redeadthey'realldeadthey'realldead-_

Who was dead? All he could feel was the sheer pain of betrayal, a sense of pure fear and pain, rushing into his head all within one instant. Then it exploded, sending a cornucopia of colors rushing through his mind, and fading within the next instant. At that point he regained his senses.

Suddenly he was aware of several sensations inside his body. Firstly, he was hungry. Exceedingly, viciously hungry. And secondly, he was _afraid._ He had no idea where he was, and although he was faintly aware of the danger around him, he also wanted to go back to sleep. Not because he was tired, but because he longed for the sweet, ignorant, blissful slumber he had just awoken from.

Too many feelings were going through his mind, tears falling down his face as he tried to sort himself out. Finally, his eyes focused themselves long enough to get a grip on his surroundings.

He could _see_.

He could see, but there wasn't much to look at. He was inside of a dark blue room, with lights pulsing, slowly, comfortingly, that made him feel drowsy. The blue light seemed familiar. Again the desire for sleep came, but he shook it off.

Then his eyes fell upon the girl standing over him, her dark red hair illuminated by the blue pillar of light that was streaming from her hand. She looked like an angry goddess, wearing tanned cloth robes, her eyes blocked by locks of her messy hair as she stared down upon him. Who was she?

She wiped the hair from her face-and something else that was wet, he couldn't tell-revealing bright, focused green eyes that bore into his, unrelenting, demanding. Her moist red lips made motions that at first he didn't understand, that made no sense to him.

Words. A series of sounds that strung together to create communication, language. They hit his ears with a shock, almost deafening him despite the fact that her voice was barely audible. They were the first words he'd heard in what seemed like an eternity, but he could hear them.

The girl was looking at him, expectantly. She wanted him to say something back. His tongue stumbled inside of his mouth, struggling to bring meaning to the thoughts that were swirling around his head. His confusion turned into frustration, his mouth contorting into the same oval that it had been when he was screaming.

"Wha-what?" he said. He _spoke_, tasting the words as he said them.

Her eyes slowly changed from demanding to understanding. The pillar of light vanished, and she knelt down, meeting his flustered stare on an even level. He couldn't look away from her gaze; he felt _connected _to her somehow.

"Who are you?" she repeated more clearly, more kindly, still staring at him. He could see that there was fear in her eyes too.

Again the question. Who _was _he? He looked down at his hands. They were pale, but when he folded them together he found that they were rather soft. He briefly wondered if the girl's hands were soft too.

"I…don't know." The fear, unbidden, crept into his voice.

She spoke slowly. "You don't remember anything?"

He hesitated, trying to remember what he was before he'd woken up in this room. It was hopeless. Like trying to find the darkest part of space.

"Nothing…I don't remember anything…"

The strange thing was that it didn't feel wrong to him. He felt as though it was perfectly natural. With that feeling, some of his fear died away, and he gathered enough strength to try to stand up. The girl clasped one of his hands as he stumbled to his feet.

Yes, they _were _soft.

When he stood up, he felt dizzy. He must've been on the floor for a really long time_._ The girl was still looking at him, but now she was looking _up _at him. That felt weird. He hadn't thought he was taller than her. In fact, he could see her much better now. Her pale face was dotted with freckles. Subconsciously he reached for his own face, thinking that he'd be able to feel them on his face too. All he found was stubble.

She swallowed, seeming to have trouble saying her next words. "My name's Tallisibeth Enwandung-Esterhazy." A distant look appeared in her eyes. "Everyone…"

Her voice cracked.

"…Call me Scout."

He gave her a quizzical look.

"Why would I call you Scout if your name is Tallisibeth?"

Her expression made him think that she had suddenly gotten sick.

"My…friends…called me Scout."

"Oh." _Oh._ "Okay, Scout. My name's-"

His words were interrupted by the sound of a blast coming from the other side of the room. Instinctually he backed away as that blue pillar of light flickered into existence from Scout's hand. He could see that it came from some kind of steel pole inside of her hand. When she felt him back away, Scout distractedly turned around.

"Where's your lightsaber?" she demanded.

"My _what_?"

She groaned. "Alright, here, take this." With a flick of her empty hand she threw another small metal stick at him. Before he was aware of what he was doing, he caught it in his hand and examined the object that she referred to as a lightsaber. His scrutiny was interrupted by Scout's voice.

"Okay, look. You picked a really bad place to sleep. There's a bunch of soldiers outside, and for reasons I'll explain later, they want to kill us. We're probably outnumbered about a hundred to two, and if we're going to survive this, you'll have to follow my lead. Got it?"

She was hard to keep up with. He nodded anyway.

"Good."

Scout rushed to the other side of the room, where she stood behind a wall. Next to her was a circular opening latticed with lasers that blocked the entrance to…to where?

"Where's that lead to?"

"Into here. Get behind that wall, quickly!"

He obeyed, but the impending danger didn't halt his questions.

"Where are-"

Suddenly a hail of mini-lasers came from the dark opening. He ducked behind the wall as Scout batted some of them back into the hallway with her lightsaber.

"Listen, eventually they'll have to come in here. When they do, you'll have to press that button there-" She showed him using her own lightsaber- "And help me fight them off."

"What if they don't come in here?"

"Then we're _kriffing _screwed."

Before he could ask her what "_kriffing" _meant, a small round sphere bounced between them and the entryway. He didn't know what it was, but he guessed that it wasn't good, from the fact that Scout immediately jumped away from it. Without any idea what he was doing, he raised his hand and sent it back down the hallway, _without _touching it.

That part threw him off for a while. He almost didn't notice the _boom_. Just as he was about to ask Scout what in the world had just happened, she rushed past him into the hallway, her hair brushing lightly against his face. More blaster fire came down from the hallway, but she continued deflecting it with her lightsaber.

"Come on!" she shouted.

A feeling of apprehension filled his stomach, but he grabbed his lightsaber and rushed in after her. So much for the plan.

_I have a bad feeling about this…_


	3. Chapter 3

Scout had to be honest, she was _impressed._

Within the few moments that the boy had been awake, he'd managed to save both their lives, and now he was rushing into battle behind her without any visible hesitation. She tried not to think about what would happen to her if he ended up dying here. Another death would be too much for her.

The explosion of the thermal detonator had destroyed the security lasers. As she rushed down the hallway she was able to see that the clone troopers had demolished both security doors, and had a complete view of her as she ran towards them. Likewise, she could see that there were only four of them: one commando squad, which was the best she could have hoped for. But she'd have to finish this quickly, before more reinforcements arrived.

Deflecting blasters was no problem for her. But unlike other Jedi, who usually said that it felt like the Force was slowing them down so they could smack the blaster bolts away, Scout saw where they would be milliseconds before the troopers fired, and moved her lightsaber accordingly. One of her Masters had said that she had some kind of precognition through the Force during her battles, and that was why she was always able to outmaneuver her opponents, because she knew what they would do before they knew themselves. Scout preferred to think her mind was sharper than the average Jedi's.

She was glad to see that she still had her talent; not one blaster bolt evaded her lightsaber's swirling motions. Which was a good thing, because she couldn't tell if the boy was in a state to rely strongly enough on the Force to deflect them. He seemed really out of it.

Mentally Scout willed for him not to get them both killed.

When she reached the end of the hallway, one of the troopers ejected a vibroblade from his gauntlet and tried to rush her with it. She spin-dodged behind him as the other troopers tried to level their blasters at her, and dismembered him at the elbow, following her attack with a low, brutal sweep that severed both of his legs at the knees. The trooper fell to the floor, but she couldn't hear him screaming. She ignored him, and continued twisting her lightsaber around, beating away the blaster fire from the remaining three troopers.

They were too concentrated on her. When that dark-haired boy came through the opening, only one of them noticed him in time to turn around to fire at him. He'd have to take care of himself for now.

With only two troopers firing at her, Scout was able to advance towards them. Oddly enough, a decent amount of the lasers fired from their blasters weren't going anywhere near her. That was completely contradictory to the quality of marksmanship she expected from commandos. The rumors of their antics during the war placed them in near-mythic status. Kind of like Jedi.

Either they were going easy on her-which was a _very _dumb idea-or they were actually this horrible. It didn't really matter.

When she was within swinging distance again, she struck out horizontally at both of them, forcing them back-and into their comrade, who was wrestling with the boy for his rifle.

_What._

"What are you doing?" she shouted.

Distractedly he looked past the trooper and at her, which gave the trooper the opportunity to hit him with the butt of the blaster rifle, knocking the boy back. The trooper took aim…

Scout immediately swept between the two troopers that she'd just pushed away, and stabbed her lightsaber through the trooper's armor, causing him to drop his weapon and fall to the ground. But that forced her to take her eyes off of the two troopers behind her, and she could tell that they were raising their rifles to fire at her. She tensed…

The boy regained his balance and pushed one hand behind her, along with what seemed like all of the air around him. A Force Push. The two troopers sailed across the library, smashing into the shelves. They were both stunned momentarily.

Scout turned to the boy, who was breathing heavily from his little altercation with the clone.

"What the _kriff _were you doing?" she asked him again.

"Dropped my lightsaber," he huffed, walking back to go to the spot he had dropped it.

"No, wait…oh _stang_."

The troopers had regained their senses and rose to a crouched position, ready to begin firing again. Except only one of them actually _stayed _down. The other ejected his vibroblade from his gauntlet, and dashed towards her faster than she would have thought possible, while his buddy provided cover fire.

She couldn't fight the trooper _and _deflect blaster fire.

"Get over here!" she yelled at the boy, who was already rushing to her side, his lightsaber held in a battle position that she hadn't seen before. It probably didn't exist, but that was beside the point.

"Take care of this guy for me? Thanks." She didn't wait for a response as she dodged the trooper charging toward her, sending him flying into the boy. Scout continued deflecting the other trooper's blaster bolts with ease, trying to send them back towards the trooper.

This was harder than the Masters made it look.

* * *

The boy didn't have time to think as he ended up wrestling with yet _another _trooper, for the second time within a minute. All he could see was white armor; the trooper was a head taller than him, and probably a lot stronger. If he didn't get away from him soon, he'd be done for. That vibroblade looked lethal, and he was struggling with the trooper's arms to keep it away from his neck.

_Lightsaber. Use your lightsaber._

He took the risk of letting go of the trooper's empty hand, and fumbled for the hilt as he dodged to the side, narrowly avoiding the trooper as he stabbed downwards, missing him and stumbling forward. This was his chance.

The boy rushed forward and raised the hilt of his lightsaber, preparing to strike the trooper as he swung his arm in a circular arc, pressing the ignition button on the lightsaber.

The blade came out of the wrong side.

_What?_

He was holding it _the wrong way_.

The hilt bounced off of the trooper's backside, stunning the boy as the metallic vibration shook through his arm.

Before he could recover, he felt the vibroblade rip through his left shoulder.

* * *

Scout clutched her side, narrowly avoiding the onset of increased blaster fire the trooper sent after her as she was forced to stop defending. She gritted her teeth and jumped behind one of the Library's high-reaching shelves, leaning against it for support as she tried to figure out what was wrong with her shoulder.

The pain had come out of nowhere. Had she missed a blaster bolt? If she had, she should be dead. It was possible that the troopers had been ordered to capture any surviving Jedi, but she'd been absolutely certain that not one had made it past her guard…

Scout chanced a respite to glance at her shoulder. The trooper would be too wary to come after her, knowing that she had the advantage in close combat. And she wasn't worried about him going after the boy, because he'd have to be downright idiotic to turn his back on an armed Jedi.

There was nothing there. No burn marks, no wounds, no rips in her clothing…nothing. She did a quick check to see if she'd dislocated her shoulder somehow, but other than what was now a dull ache, she was completely fine.

Except for the fact that she now had no idea where the trooper was.

This was exactly the situation she _hadn't _wanted to get herself into before. She'd given the trooper enough time to move to either side of the shelves, and she couldn't predict where he'd come from. Scout was hesitant to put her faith in the Force to keep track of where he was, worried that when she stopped being alert in order to take the time to concentrate, he'd strike. Instead, she ignited her lightsaber again, and slashed at the side of the shelf closest to the main hall before spinning out into the open, taking a defensive stance.

The clone trooper wasn't there. He must have run to the other side of the shelf to try and ambush her.

Well, she wasn't going to play this game of hide and seek much longer. Never taking her eyes off of the shelves, she ran back to the security entrance to help the boy. She had a sinking feeling that he wasn't doing too well.

* * *

He was pretty sure he knew what _kriff _meant now. The word slipped past his teeth as his back crashed onto the floor, his free hand gripping his shoulder. The pain distorted his vision, and he barely caught sight of the vibroblade as it came down for the killing blow. Quickly he rolled away from it, feeling the sparks dance across the side of his face as the trooper missed him and hit the floor.

Just as the boy was about to rise to his feet, the trooper's other hand obscured his vision in a downward lariat. The boy reflexively raised his lightsaber, backhanded, cutting into the trooper's gauntlet. He didn't manage to cut all the way through, but he did enough damage to make the trooper fall back.

The boy flipped to his feet, but didn't have a chance to correct his grip on his lightsaber as the trooper came back for round two. The trooper lunged forward with the vibroblade, forcing the boy to meet the blade with his own. The impact jarred both of them back.

_It's just like fighting with your fists._

That was all he had time to think before the trooper attacked again. This time, however, the boy was able to take some initiative in the battle, again blocking the trooper's strike, but then twisting his arm so that the blade came dangerously close to the trooper's gauntlet, smoke rising from the burnt armor.

They stayed in a mutual stalemate for about two seconds before they leaped away from each other for the third time.

_Okay, I've got the hang of this now._

This time, the boy struck first, lightly tapping the trooper's vibroblade to knock it aside before moving inside the trooper's blind spot and thrusting his lightsaber forward, held horizontally. He spun under the trooper's arm, cutting through his armor like a blue serrated disk.

A few moments of heavy breathing…and the trooper fell.

"Wow."

* * *

Scout stared at the boy, wide eyed. She hadn't caught the entire battle, but what she had seen nearly made her forget about the trooper lurking somewhere inside of the shelves.

A few minutes ago, he hadn't even known what the lightsaber _was_. Now, he was very close to being ready to fight in an actual lightsaber-to-lightsaber duel. His movements hadn't even looked Force-guided; they'd been more calculated and deliberate than flowing and carefree. It was a little like the way she fought, minus the refinement. And that unusual style…

With a mental cleansing of her mind, Scout returned her attention back to her most immediate problem: the remaining trooper. She moved closer to the boy, who was already facing her, and tugged on his robes.

"Okay, that was good, but we've got another problem." She gestured towards the shelves. "There's another trooper somewhere in those shelves. We're going to go corner him before he attacks us."

"You didn't take care of him?" She could have sworn there was a smug tone in his voice.

"No, I was too busy worrying about _you," _she said, irritated, and she poked him in the chest. It was then that she noticed the tearing across the shoulder of his robe. She instinctively ran her hand down her own shoulder.

"What…what happened to you?"

He looked down. "Oh. Trooper nicked me. But I'm fine now. It's just a scratch."

"It didn't _feel _like just a scratch…" she said, speaking mostly to herself.

"Well, it hurt a lot. But I'm not bleeding or anything…Are you okay?" There was genuine concern in his voice, and he was looking at her worriedly.

"Yes…I'm fine." Scout shook her head and smiled at him. "Don't worry about it. Come on."

"Wait," the boy said, grabbing her shoulder. She almost winced. "That one's still breathing."

"What?"

"That trooper, over there," he said, pointing to the trooper whose arm she'd taken off in the first moments of the fight. "He's still alive."

Scout turned around, and examined the trooper with a blank stare. He wasn't moving anywhere, but she could tell he was struggling to try to reach his blaster with his remaining limb. The boy reached out and pulled the blaster to his hand using the Force.

"So you've gotten used to that, have you?"

"A little bit, yeah," he said offhandedly while examining the blaster. "What are you going to do with him?" The way he posed the question to her made it seem as though her actions were just an afterthought to him now. He seemed more interested in the blaster, twirling it around his fingers, examining the barrel and grip.

Scout thought about it. She didn't want to leave any witnesses, but now that the heat of battle was over, she couldn't bring herself to kill the trooper in cold blood. After a bit of thinking, she came up with a plan.

"Watch the shelves," she told the boy, who obediently began to scan them for signs of the missing clone.

Scout slowly moved towards the trooper, knelt down on one knee, and pulled off his helmet, revealing a young, tanned man with well-defined features, whose face was contorted in pain. The boy seemed perturbed when Scout unmasked him, and stopped playing with the blaster.

"You're not going to kill him, are you?"

"Of course not. He's _unarmed_."

"Was that supposed to be funny?" he asked.

Then she alarmed him by igniting her lightsaber and holding it over the clone trooper's throat. Before the boy could protest, she began calling out to the hidden trooper.

"Come out now or your squadmate dies!"

She tried not to look at the boy, who she could sense was utterly horrified.

"Trust me, and just keep watching for him," she told the boy, who seemed to be considering disobeying her, but then his shoulders fell and he turned to watch the shelves. Soon enough, a lone trooper slinked out of the shadows, hands raised in a display of surrender.

"Make sure he isn't armed."

"You mean besides the vibroblade?"

Scout swore and immediately told the trooper to eject the vibroblade from his gauntlet. He grudgingly-she could tell, grudgingly-complied, letting it clatter onto the floor. He continued walking towards her, prompting the boy to stand protectively between her and the clone.

"Stop there," Scout told him, when he'd reached within five feet of the boy. The clone stopped moving. "Turn on your helmet's speakers, and respond."

"Done." The trooper's voice was a deep, ragged, but resigned tone that told her how long he'd been assigned to guard the Temple, and how much pain the death of his brothers moments ago had caused him. No matter how robotic they could seem with their helmets on, they were still human, just like her. That was too easy to forget.

Scout tried not to let the sympathy show in her voice.

"How many of you are there in this Temple?"

Tiredly the trooper responded, "Only about ten squads since the last Jedi raid. The Emperor believes that the Jedi have gotten the message that the Order's done for, and won't come back here. Obviously not."

Angrily, she responded, "We didn't come back here, we were _trapped _in here. And what Emperor?"

"Emperor Palpatine."

"What?"

"Haven't you heard?" The trooper's voice was becoming more confused. "You Jedi tried to overthrow him while he was Chancellor, and the Senate voted unanimously to crown him Emperor of the Galactic Empire."

That shocked her into silence.

Jedi overthrowing the Chancellor? It made no sense whatsoever. The Jedi Order she'd known would never first resort to violence to remove a threat, especially not against an unarmed old man. She'd seen the Chancellor before; he looked relatively harmless.

But then again, Anakin had been pretty close with the Chancellor, hadn't he?

Whatever. None of that mattered right now. She had to get out of this place before it killed her.

"Did your squad call for reinforcements?"

"No."

The boy piped up. "He's telling the truth."

"How do you know?"

"I just…know." He seemed perplexed. Force certainty, then. That was fine. Scout turned back to the trooper.

"Call the other squads and tell them that you've found a Jedi, and she's running towards the agricultural facility." That should buy her and the boy enough time to escape the Temple, while the remaining commando squads searched for them in the wrong direction.

When the trooper didn't appear to do anything, she lowered her lightsaber closer to the incapacitated clone's neck. "_Now._"

She heard the sound of a commlink channel opening. "Vega Squad, this is TK-70558, Zeta Squad reporting in."

"Roger, Five-Eight, what is your status?"

"We've located a Jedi in the Jedi Archives. She's incapacitated three of our men, two dead, one wounded, and she's escaped towards the agricultural facility, through the Room of a Thousand Fountains. Squad leader is down, repeat, squad leader is down. Request permission to pursue, over."

"Negative, Five-Eight, we'll take it from here. Do not engage, repeat, do not engage under any circumstances. We'll send a corpsman over to help your wounded. Head back to HQ and rest, soldier."

"…Copy that. Five-Eight out."

The buzzing noise from the commlink channel faded. Five-Eight took off his helmet and wiped sweat from his brow.

Scout could feel the boy start at his identical appearance to the other trooper, but he remained silent. She'd have to get him up to speed later.

"Is that enough? Let him go, and get out of here."

The anger in his voice stunned Scout. She should be angry at him and his comrades, not the other way around. But knowing how he felt didn't make it any easier to feel resentment towards him.

The boy walked closer to the clone.

"What's your name?" he asked.

After a long pause, Five-Eight responded, "Why do you care?" His voice was actually surprised, with no trace of bitterness or sarcasm.

The boy sighed, misinterpreting his response. "Look, I'm sorry for what happened to your friends."

"They were my brothers," the clone responded, matter-of-factly.

Scout couldn't hold her emotions back anymore. "You and your brotherskilled my _family_. All the people I knew and cared about. I-_we_-deserve to at least know your name!"

The tears were returning, but she didn't care. She _needed _to know. Somehow she had to get an answer, an explanation for all the terrible things that had happened to her. She lowered her head, letting her red hair catch the tears, and felt the boy's reassuring hand on her shoulder.

Five-Eight was taken aback by her outburst, falling into silence. When he finally responded, his words were uncertain, but heavy.

"My name's...my brothers called me Rede."

"I'm Scout." she said, feeling only a little ridiculous. Introductions in the middle of what was essentially a battlefield. With the _enemy._

Rede turned to the boy. "And you?" he asked. His voice was now strange, almost dreamlike.

"I don't have one."

There was an unusual tone in his voice, and it Scout was surprised to realize that it too was _anger. _She realized that she had been so wrapped up in her own pain and loss that she hadn't thought about what he must be feeling, without any memories to tell him who he was or what was happening around him. He'd been awake for barely a minute before he'd been thrown into battle, and now he was responsible for the death of another human being.

Was that why he wanted to know the trooper's name? To affirm that they were as real as he was?

"We should go," she told him quietly.

"Okay."

"We're going to have to put on the other two troopers' armor…and hide the bodies…if we're going to get out of here, okay?"

"Yeah, go ahead; I'll catch up in a minute."

Scout nodded, releasing the ignition on her lightsaber and leaving him to whatever it was he needed to work out before leaving the Temple. He bent down towards the injured trooper and put his hand over his eyes, putting the trooper to sleep with the Force.

"He won't feel the pain anymore…that'll keep him until he's healed. I'm really sorry…"

Rede seemed to ignore him. He was putting back on his helmet, his head tilted slightly upward, as though he was reading something on his visor.

"Jedi..." he muttered.

They both suited up in the dead troopers' armor, leaving the bodies near the entrance to the Library, and didn't look back at Rede as they left the Archives to finally escape the Force-forsaken Temple.


	4. Chapter 4

As Scout navigated the halls of the Temple, taking routes that avoided the paths connecting to the Agricultural Facility in the Temple Ziggurat, she thought about the kind of Jedi she'd become within the past few days.

She was responsible for the death of one human being, and she'd inflicted brutal injury upon another. Sure, during the war she'd had to kill sentient creatures, but they were all so _alien_, and she'd never really had time to think about whether or not she was doing the right thing in taking their lives. It was only a matter of defending herself, and besides, the Trade Federation's goals were evil. The Jedi said so.

So had the Chancellor.

That was what scared her the most. What if Palpatine's plan had been to use the war to become a dictator all along, and the entire war had just been a meticulously orchestrated sham? All that death and suffering, solely so one man could satisfy his ambition? Then how would she justify all the unspeakable acts she'd been forced to witness, and even taken part in?

_No. I can't worry about this now. We've got to get out of this Temple first. _

She wasn't surprised to find that she was loathing the idea of leaving it. For her entire life, this place had been her home, the one place she could return to, no matter what. Even though she hadn't had many friends due to her weakness in the Force, she'd always found comfort in that one concept. Even with the worry that she might fail to become a Jedi.

And now there were no Jedi-_no, think about something else-_

She turned her thoughts to the boy, but she did not look at him; the armor overpowered any chance she had of figuring out what was going on inside of his head. There were too many questions she had to ask about him, so many that she didn't know where to start.

First off, who _was _he? She didn't recognize him at all, which wasn't particularly surprising; she hadn't been very social before the onset of the Clone Wars, and when she was finally accepted as a Padawan, most of her time had been spent on missions with Whie and Anakin-_again, _stop _thinking about them._

It was then that she discovered that the most infuriating thing about the commando armor was that she couldn't wipe her eyes.

* * *

Since all he was doing was blindly following Scout as she maneuvered her way out of the Temple, the boy had time to think for the first time since he'd woken up. Many thoughts drifted in and out of his mind, not least of which was his wonder at the Temple itself.

Compared to the small room he'd woken up in-which Scout referred to as a "vault"-the rest of the Temple was an utter horror scene. Scars from the night that was still haunting Scout were painted all around the darkened grey-golden halls, in the form of burn marks, demolished sculptures and walls, and the ineffable presence of _death _in the Temple. Sometimes he even had the feeling that something unseen was lurking in the shadows, stalking them, but when he turned around, there was only a faint, wispy _emptiness _behind him.

_I'm too old to be afraid of ghosts. _

Too old? The realization came to him that he had no idea how old he actually was. And with that, came awareness of all the other unknowns that shrouded his past in mystery. All the things he couldn't remember, the most prominent one being his _name_.

Yes, that was what was troubling him the most right now.

_I need a name._

It was a strange feeling, not knowing what to call himself. Maybe it wouldn't have bothered him so much if that soldier hadn't had one either. But he did. _Rede. _Named by his brothers. That discovery had cemented the urging desire within him to find a name, something he could use to identify himself.

Because as it was, he felt _ephemeral_. Like he was only drifting through these Temple walls, as liable to disappear into the light fog that surrounded the temple as he was to take his next breath. It was as if the commando armor that he'd put on was only a shell keeping him from leaking out into the ethereal abyss that he'd felt before he'd woken up. That warm, comforting presence.

Really, the only thing keeping him from falling back into that strange slumber was Scout. He couldn't get the picture of her blazing green eyes out of his head, the same way she'd been when he'd woken up. They were so…intense. But he could feel the uncertainty behind those eyes, and the trauma that whatever had happened to this decrepit Temple had caused her. There was something else inside of them too, behind all the determination and anxiety. A sense of unfathomable loss, the same way he felt about his memory. But her loss was different, and he couldn't place it. Even now, he could sense that it was eating away at her, more strongly than it had before, through that indescribable _connection _he'd felt with her when he'd first woken up.

_She's strong. _The memory of her earlier grace in battle flashed before him. _But she's hurting inside._

Despite his grasp of her feelings, he had no idea what to say to her. How could he comfort her when he couldn't even comfort himself? So he followed her in silence, grasping at any tendrils of thought that might lead to some serenity, even if it was only temporary.

One such thought repeated itself: Rede was named by his brothers. A tentative solution coalesced within his mind.

* * *

_I have to get over this. _

They were nearing the exit of the ziggurat, and Scout could feel the tension bubbling within her stomach. In a few minutes she'd finally be free of this desolate ruin. Soon enough she'd have to plan for what would happen afterwards.

If she kept dwelling on the death of Whie, she'd mess up, and get both her and the boy killed. Dealing with death wasn't something new to her, but Whie's death was different. He'd been her only friend. She hadn't been present for Master Chankar's death, and she'd only known Master Jai for a short time. The relationships were different. And maybe Whie had been a bit more to her than a friend, no matter how much she didn't want to admit it. The pain was pungent enough.

No, if she was going to make it past the next few hours, she had to shove these thoughts to the corner of her mind, at least until after she was safe. Then she could deal with them. So with a small intake of breath, she tried to find a peaceful spot in her mind, somewhere yet untouched by fear and despair-and she arrived at that bond-the one that allowed her to feel his knife wound-between her and the boy.

His voice crackled over the commlink. "Why are we stopping?"

Scout had never been very good at meditating. She continued walking again, with the boy trailing behind her.

"Sorry, I was just thinking…"

"About what we're going to do when we get out of here?"

"Sort of…"

His question brought up some strange feelings. She wasn't used to be being in command. Usually she was the one _taking_ orders. The responsibility weighed down on her like a dark storm cloud.

This was too much like Vjun. They were trapped within enemy territory, and she was watching over someone else in the absence of someone better. A Master. The memory of Whie tried to rise from her mind, but she pushed it back down.

Although she didn't think there was any darkness inside the boy, Scout was very much aware that something was affecting him, both because of that unusual connection and because of what she'd learned about him in the short time they'd been together. When she had first met him in the Vault, he hadn't stopped asking her questions for one minute, but since then he hadn't spoken a word. Until now.

Later she'd have to talk to him about her ability to feel his injuries. _Later. _So many things would come later.

But right now, she had to make sure he was okay, too. Scout nodded her head in his direction.

"How's your memory?"

"I still don't remember anything." He paused, and Scout could sense that he wanted to say something else. Finally, he spoke.

"I don't even know my own _name_." So _that_ was what was bothering him. But this time, the anger that had previously been in his voice was replaced by caution. He was working up to something bigger.

Part of Scout was becoming impatient with all of this. Still, she waited, very aware of the ever-increasing chance that they could be discovered at any moment. Her nerves were stretched taut in anticipation.

The sound of static dissipated with the sound of the boy's voice slowly speaking over the link.

"Could _you _give me a name?"

Scout felt the tension melt to a puddle around her.

"What?"

Slowly, he said, "I mean, you have two names. You could give me one of yours."

For a few moments, she was certain that her helmet was malfunctioning.

"Are you serious?"

"You're not using your other name, Tallisibeth. And I need to be able to call myself something…"

It almost sounded like he was _pleading_ with her.

_This is mental. _

"But-but it's a girl's name! Besides, you'll remember your real name eventually, right?"

"No, Scout. I won't."

"How can you be so sure?"

He sighed. "When I try to think about what I was before I woke up, there's nothing. It's all darkness. And-I don't know-I just feel as if it's absolutely impossible for me to recall anything!" He became more and more frantic as he explained himself. "And without a name I just don't feel real. When that vibroblade cut through me, it hurt, but I wasn't even afraid…like I didn't care if I died or not. It's as if I'm not _supposed _to be here…"

The mention of the vibroblade immediately caught Scout's attention. Maybe she should bring up that connection now. It might take his mind off of all these problems, because right now, she just wasn't certain how to solve them.

Carefully, she said, "When you got cut by the vibroblade…I felt it too."

Now it was his turn to be confused.

"What?"

"I didn't know what it was at the time…but I think that somehow I felt your pain through the Force. I don't know why-I'm not even that strong in it-but we're…_bonded _somehow."

"The Force?"

That stopped her train of thought completely.

"You did all those Force tricks and you don't even remember what it is?"

He stayed quiet for a while, probably thinking back to those times that he'd used the Force during the earlier battle.

"It felt…natural."

She puffed into the receiver. "Lucky you."

"What do you mean?"

"Not everyone's as connected to the Force as you are," she said scornfully. _No, this isn't right._ Scout took a deep breath and tried again. "Look, I'll explain all of this later. Now's not the right time, okay?"

But he was in that state again. The one where his questions didn't end. "If you felt that wound, then what happens if…one of us dies?" he blurted out suddenly.

There was a sobering thought if she ever needed one.

"I don't know, and I don't plan to stick around to find out."

This conversation wasn't going any way like the one she planned. At least he'd been very straightforward so far. Before all of this, she hadn't really been one to socialize with others-or others didn't socialize with her, it didn't matter-and most of her interactions with others had been with either her Masters or Whie. Talking to her Masters was so stilted and formal, not like what she considered a real conversation. Her conversations with Master Jai had always been somewhat awkward, seeing as he didn't want her as a Padawan to begin with, and speaking with Master Yoda was invariably like trying to catch water.

And with Whie…after their mission to Vjun, Scout found that she had an easier time talking to Whie than anyone else. It was, like the boy said, natural. And they hadn't cared about the other Padawan's jokes and cajoles over the time they spent together. But when they were sent on different missions, Scout had noticed that Whie was always holding something back after his return, and their relationship had changed. It had gone from being natural to somewhat awkward, both because of their less-than-Jedi-like feelings for each other, and because of the war. That was why his death had been so hard for her to accept. They'd never worked out what they actually were to each other.

Why was she comparing the boy to Whie? They were completely different. For one thing, Whie had never been this…helpless. But then again, she and Whie had never been stripped of everything they were and woken up to find they could remember nothing about their pasts.

_I have to be more understanding. Like Master Yoda. _

Even though she couldn't see his eyes through the visor, Scout knew he was still looking at her, waiting for an answer. He needed an identity; she could tell that much from his words. So she'd give him one, even if it was only temporary.

And then an ugly thought surfaced within her.

She could tell him that he was Whie Malreaux. Her best friend. Even if it was only a name, it would be like he was still alive. Still with her-_No!_

_ I'm the one who told Whie he was only pretending at being a Jedi. No pretending. I have to accept this…somehow. _

She stopped again, and was surprised when the boy nearly crashed into her, with a grating scrape of metal. He fell back and brushed the chest plate.

"Sorry…"

"It's fine." This actually helped her to shake off those depressing thoughts. "Listen, if you really need a name, I'll give you one. But I'm not calling you Tallisibeth. That's just weird, and this day's been weird enough."

"What then?"

Scout summoned whatever humor was left in her and deepened her voice to a comical baritone. "From this day forth, you shall be known as…Tallis. Congratulations."

_Did I handle that well, Master? _It didn't matter which one she was speaking to.

"Tallis." The boy seemed to be tasting the word, trying to decide whether or not he himself approved. And Scout found that it was _his _approval she was waiting for. He was and would be the measure of whether or not she'd done well.

The atmosphere abruptly changed, and it was as if the Temple had suddenly become brighter. The dark blue ambient fog suddenly seemed to be filled with golden light, and she could feel the multiple worries in her mind ease as she realized that she could _feel _his contentment. And she was happy too.

"I like it. Thanks, Scout."

She smiled, even though he wouldn't be able to see her, because she knew he was smiling too. _Tallis_ was smiling.

"Glad you do. Anytime you forget your name again, you can come to me."

"That's reassuring." An attempt at humor. The change was even showing in his speech.

"It's what I'm here for."

_ I did okay, didn't I?_

With that one headache out of the way, Scout was able to concentrate on her surroundings again. And when she was fully aware of where exactly they were inside the temple, she came to another dead halt, inciting another response from Tallis.

"What is it? What's wrong?"

"Nothing. We're at the exit."

And from what she could see, things immediately got a lot more hopeless.

* * *

**Author's Notes**

**Okay, this is my first set of Author's Notes, and I'd like to open up by saying that I apologize for the amount of time it took to get this chapter out. I'm hoping that this will be unusual when compared with my future updates, and I'll explain why it took me nearly a week to write this relatively short chapter.**

**Firstly, I think this is the worst chapter I've written yet, if only because of the lack of events inside of it. I always knew I was going to have problems with this chapter, because the only major event I had planned for it was naming Tallis. Originally there was going to be a bit more action, which I won't reveal the details of because I might bring the original plan in for the next chapter, but ultimately I decided it would make the atmosphere of this chapter too dynamic. This chapter was supposed to develop the characters of both Tallis and Scout, and because of that, it becomes a bit tedious to read (it certainly was tedious to write). I would have liked to skip this chapter altogether, but then there'd be a noticeable gap between how Chapter 3 ends and where I plan to start Chapter 5, which will take place outside of the Temple. And I couldn't think of a better way to introduce a name for Tallis, as well as a time to flesh out what the status of Tallis and Scout's relationship after what we saw happen in Chapter 3.**

**I do really like the first two sections of this chapter. Incidentally, I'll have updated Chapter 3 to include proper section breaks by the time this has been published. The only reason they weren't there before was because I am a noob at using the Document Editor. **

**Expect more POV from Scout in the future. This is just because I think you guys want to hear more from Scout than Tallis, but if you want otherwise then tell me so in the reviews. I do think that I didn't give Scout didn't get enough chances to act like the Scout you all know and love in this chapter. Also, the tone of this story is going to change after this chapter. I jokingly refer to this chapter as the last "emo" chapter when I speak of this fanfic to my friends. Also, even though there's going to be more from Scout, I know that Tallis comes off as mildly personality-less (I tried to kind-of fix that in this chapter), but that'll change in either the next chapter or in Chapter 6.  
**

**Expect one more new character to be introduced, _probably _in the sixth chapter. This will be the last new character that I ever introduce to this universe, and then I'll be working within the confines of the existing Expanded Star Wars Universe. I really don't like altering it _too _much.  
**

**Finally, expect updates regularly every 3 to 4 days, and probably sooner if I have a good chapter going. For me, time isn't a measure of quality. The first three chapters of this story were written in one week. This one chapter took me about the same time, and I worked on it _every day_ since then. So yeah, you be the judge.**

**In conclusion, this chapter is the product of me trying to fight my way through writer's block.**

**Please tell me what you think about it in the reviews. Thanks for sticking with me thus far.  
**


	5. Chapter 5

In the days following the execution of Order 66, Emperor Palpatine had ordered a reconstruction of the Presidential Palace. His goal was to make it the tallest, most grand building in all of Coruscant, in order to solidify his authority has Emperor of the Galactic Empire.

Darth Sidious had spent the better part of fifty years cultivating his grand scheme to reign over all the galaxy, to become both Darth Sidious, Dark Lord of the Sith, and Emperor Palpatine of the Galactic Empire. He was entitled to revel in his glory.

These were the thoughts that he entertained as he gazed lazily out towards Coruscant through the circular window within his chambers. Although the Palace was still under construction, he allowed himself to dwell within its walls, renaming it the Imperial Palace. His base of operations. The center of his glorious realm.

But despite his decisive victory over both the Republic and the Jedi, there were still other matters to consider. He was well aware that Jedi had survived Order 66; he had expected it. He still had opposition in the Senate; this too was inevitable. All this could be dealt with later.

However, there was one issue that demanded his immediate attention, and that was Anakin's crushing defeat at the hands of Obi-Wan.

Perhaps catastrophic would be a better word. For all of Anakin's great potential in the Force had been effectively severed from him on Mustafar. Had Sidious not found him, crippled as he was, Anakin would have met his death there. And as it was, Anakin might as well have been dead.

More than half of Anakin's body was made up of prostheses; he was more droid than human. Some might have thought that Anakin would therefore be easier to control, but Palpatine knew better than that. Anakin would be angry, rebellious, doubtful. He would question whether the dark path that Sidious had presented to him had indeed been the correct one or not. Anakin would hold on to his identity as Anakin Skywalker, and until he made peace with all of the indignant questions running through his mind, he would never move on to his ultimate destiny as Darth Vader. As things stood, Darth Vader was as much a disguise for Anakin as was the black metallic life support suit that he was forced to wear merely to breathe.

Yet Sidious wouldn't have it any other way. Yes, Anakin's potential had been stemmed. For now. But this would only amplify his thirst for power, to break the shackles that life, that the Force itself had thrown around him since the day of his conception.

The words of Darth Bane echoed in Sidious' mind.

_Two there should be; no more, no less. One to embody power, the other to crave it._

And Anakin craved power now more than ever. But until he fully embraced the lure of the dark side, he would never truly grasp it.

What then, would provoke Vader to let go of Anakin? The rage was there: For losing Padme. The hate was there: For the Jedi Order and for Obi-Wan.

Anakin needed the _action._

Before Sidious had fully meditated on the topic, the chamber's commlink beeped, signaling some underling's bid for his attention. One of his Shadow Guards approached him from the entrance to his room, bowing.

"Your Excellency, Commander Appo has requested an audience with you."

Sidious turned slightly from the window, keeping the hood he wore from fully revealing his face.

"Send him in."

"Yes, my lord."

The door opened again, and a single, unmasked clone commando was led into the dark chamber by the second guard that guarded Palpatine's door. Commander Appo, leader of the 501st Legion.

Commander Appo was likely the clone that Sidious would have trusted most, if Sidious was foolish enough to give in to such insignificant feelings as trust and devotion. Appo followed orders without question, as a soldier should. It was for this reason that he would be such an excellent commander under Vader.

Sidious approved of the man, but an Emperor had an image to maintain.

"I trust you have a good reason for disturbing me, Commander Appo?"

Appo's face betrayed no hint of fear or nervousness as he replied, "Of course, sir."

"Then speak."

Commander Appo pulled a cylindrical holorecorder from a compartment inside his armor and handed it to Sidious.

"This is a recording of events that took place at the Jedi Temple no less than an hour ago, sir. Two Jedi were found hiding inside of the Temple, one male and one female. Zeta Squad engaged the two Jedi and were consequently incapacitated, except for TK-70558, nicknamed Rede, who then reported the encounter to the squad leader of Vega Squad. Unfortunately, sir, the two Jedi managed to escape the Temple Precinct before our men could apprehend them."

"Why is this so important that you deigned to interrupt my meditation, Commander?"

Appo continued on, unperturbed by Sidious' tone.

"We were able to identify one of the Jedi using the Temple's remaining surveillance systems, as well as those placed by our own men. A female Padawan, Tallisibeth Enwandung-Esterhazy. She served alongside Anakin Skywalker and Whie Malreaux, another Padawan, for most of the war."

Sidious raised one eyebrow.

"A Padawan?"

"Yessir. Records indicate that she was in the training facility when Lord Vader led the assault on the Temple."

"And what of the other Jedi?"

Appo seemed uncertain for the first time since the meeting. That told Sidious that he wasn't going to like what he would hear next.

"We…were unable to identify him, sir. The Temple Archives have no records on his faceprint. We were at least able to tell that he was a Padawan as well, judging from the braid he was wearing."

"Is it not possible that he was Whie Malreaux?"

"Whie Malreaux was killed by Lord Vader during the night when Order 66 was executed."

This was an anomaly, then. Darth Sidious did not approve of anomalies. He turned to the guard that had led Appo into the room.

"Summon Lord Vader to my chambers."

The guard silently turned around and obeyed. At the same time, Appo slightly raised his hand, indicating that he had more to say. Palpatine motioned with a wave for Appo to continue speaking.

"We have also received a status report from Officer Marigand regarding the whereabouts of the rogue clone commandos and their sergeants. I do not need to remind Your Excellency that it is extremely likely that they are responsible for the now missing Doctor Uthan."

"No, you do not. Give it to me."

Appo produced a datapad and handed it over to Sidious' outstretched, wizened hand. Sidious' hand gripped the datapad like a vulture clawing at dinner, and he pulled it to where his eyes could read it. It was a typically politically written report, making obvious yet safe recommendations as to what to do about the renegade commandos, as well as Doctor Qail Uthan.

He had many reasons to capture her, not least of which was the possibility of an indefinite lifespan. Now that Ko Sai was dead, she was the next best researcher for the job. She was also the most threatening one. Doctor Ovolot Qail Uthan was responsible for the development of a nanovirus that was capable of wiping out the entire clone army. A virus that he now held in his possession. Unfinished, but still capable of wreaking unspeakable havoc on any planet he chose.

Such as Gibad. How appropriate would it be if the very same nanovirus Uthan had created to use against him was instead used to destroy her homeworld?

Sidious had long since developed a taste for irony. Order 66 was a testament to that fact.

As for the renegade clone commandos…

He could not tolerate any threat to his rule, and Kal Skirata and his commandos had long since proved themselves to be one. Sidious was no fool. If Skirata and his band of rogues had taken Uthan, it could only mean one thing. He'd read about the man; a Mandalorian who'd developed a sense of paternal love for the commandos under his care, specifically the Null group as well as the Special Forces Squad Omega. According to the report, half of Omega squad was still on Coruscant.

That made matters rather simple. He'd keep a close watch on them until they slipped up. Even the clones were only human. Soon enough this nuisance would come to an end.

At that moment, Darth Vader entered the chamber, in all his malevolent glory, black cape gliding behind him like a reapers gown, as the metallic scrape of his durasteel boots signaled his presence. Sidious took some dark pride in the appearance of his apprentice. Someone who would strike fear into the hearts of all his enemies.

The rhythmic rasp of Vader's respirator was overtaken by the sound of his electronically deep, almost weary voice.

"You summoned me, my Master?"

Sidious turned to completely face his fallen apprentice, who was now kneeling before him.

"Rise, Lord Vader. I have something for you to see."

As Vader stood to his full, intimidating height, Sidious walked to his desk and placed the holorecorder inside of a holoplayer slot. A static blue video of the two young Jedi appeared, fighting inside of what appeared to be the Temple's Archives. The female dismembered one clone as the boy clumsily grappled with another.

Vader's helmet was lazily cocked to one side as he observed the recording.

"This is what you brought me here for?"

"I summoned you, my apprentice, to ask you if you recognize either of these two Jedi."

"The girl is a Padawan named Tallisibeth Enwandung-Esterhazy. I do not know, nor have I ever encountered, the boy."

"I recall that I ordered you to eliminate _all _Jedi in the Temple. How did this Padawan elude your saber?"

"The girl was with a young Padawan named Whie Malreaux, a boy unusually strong in the Force. While I was dueling him, the girl escaped. I naturally assumed the clones would eliminate her." If Vader's speakers were less monotone, Sidious would have expected Vader to sound defensive.

"Surely you are not insinuating that a mere Padawan necessitated so much attention from someone as powerful in the Force as you?"

"I judged the girl to be too weak for my attention, my Master. The Force barely touches her. She was something of a joke among the Jedi. An embarrassment."

"And yet she still lives." When Vader remained silent in response, Sidious allowed his drawling whisper to transform into a more audible, commanding voice. "These are excuses, my apprentice. But no matter. We shall discuss this in further detail later."

Out of the corner of his eye he noticed that Commander Appo had put his helmet on again, slightly tilting his head, indicating that he was receiving a report from elsewhere. Sidious kept his attention focused on Vader, nonetheless.

"As you wish, my Master. Is that all?" Vader asked in a bored tone.

Truly Vader was a trying apprentice. But now was not the time to discipline him. When he returned from Kashyyyk, Sidious would decide how to handle him. Earlier they had received reports that clones on Kashyyyk had disobeyed Sidious' order to begin the Purge, and had instead allowed the Jedi to escape. Sidious had ordered Vader to prepare to travel there to discipline the clones. And if he encountered any Jedi there, perhaps that would ease the empty void within him enough to make him...tolerable. Then his true training could commence.

But for now…

"No, Lord Vader, it is not. I would like you to go town to the Special Unit barracks and brief the new Special Unit on their mission to find and eliminate any surviving Jedi." Sidious then outstretched the arm holding the datapad towards Vader. "You will also order them to find and capture, if possible, the fugitives mentioned in this security report. They are mainly renegade members of the former Grand Army of the Republic. I trust that you will not disappoint me, Lord Vader. You may go."

Vader grudgingly accepted the datapad and turned to leave, without another word. If Commander Appo was shocked at this breach of etiquette, he wisely did not display any obvious signs of it. Sidious now turned to him.

"What news do you have for me, Commander?"

Commander Appo removed his helmet, revealing a ghost of a smile on his hard-lined face. It quickly faded as he said, "We have received a report from our informants of two teenagers being arrested by the Coruscant Security Force. A subsequent search revealed that they were in possession of lightsabers."

_Coruscant Security Force. _They were now a joke at best, a mere mockery of enforcing authority now that Palpatine was in power. Still, they had their uses after all.

Because Sidious was very much aware of the Captain of the CSF Anti-Terrorism's Division's affiliation with Kal Skirata. Captain Jaller Obrim. A man who was somewhat…_liberal _with his own authority.

With luck, Obrim's selective disregard for the law would lead Sidious straight to Skirata's hiding place. One step closer to immortality. But for that to happen, Sidious would have to allow the two Jedi to escape...he considered yet another plan.

Vader had marked Esterhazy as weak. But this boy, this anomaly, would require more study. Further investigation. Single minded individuals were dangerous. Unpredictable. But at the very least Sidious would have some recollection of their past actions to predict what step they would take next. A boy with absolutely no past was thus even more dangerous. So it came down to which he feared more: an unpredictable freelance Force-user, or death. To his eyes, the choice was obvious.

However, Sidious had not come so far without planning for every eventuality.

Very well, then. He would allow the Jedi to go, but he would make certain that he had a method of keeping track of the boy. In time his origins might become clear.

"No action is to be taken against the Jedi for now; make that clear to your informant. They may lead us to our insurgents soon enough. I will arrange to have them observed."

Commander Appo bowed awkwardly in his armor. "Yes, sir."

Satisfied, Sidious was ready to retire for the day and spend his time on tasks that required less concentration than the matters within the past half hour had, but Commander Appo remained standing at attention in front of his desk.

"Is there anything else. Commander?"

"Yes, sir," Appo replied anxiously. "There is still the matter of what is to be done with Five-Eight, the clone who reported the two Jedi. He is now without a squad."

A clone who had reason to hate the Jedi could prove most useful in time.

"I would like him trained for the Special Unit. His exposure to Jedi will prove to be…expedient to our interests. When a position among one of the squads is available, replace that squad member with him. Alert Lord Vader to this change. You are dismissed."

"Thank you, sir." Commander Appo did an about-face and walked with military precision out of the door, followed by the two Shadow Guards. Finally left to enjoy his solitude, Sidious allowed himself to turn back towards the window, hands folded behind his back, considering what he had just set in motion.

At that moment in time, there was no one in the galaxy who was more adept in the Force than he was. The dark side opened his mind to every known technique in the Force, and as such, Sidious had the gift of Force certainty. He could feel it; the paths of that boy and Lord Vader were somehow connected in the Force, and would intersect in time. Something told him that boy would someday make an excellent candidate for the dark side. These were all vague feelings, but Sidious knew better than to reject them because of that. It was because of this that he allowed the boy to escape his grasp for a while. But then again, nothing was ever out of his reach. That was the comfort that the dark side brought you.

Yes, he had set many plans in motion today. He was juggling so many conspiracies that it might have been a wonder to a lesser man how he managed to do so without going mad. Without everything coming apart.

But Sidious was Emperor Palpatine, the very same man who had spent his entire life plotting betrayals and wars, for the grand purpose of becoming lord over the Republic. And he had succeeded flawlessly.

In the entire galaxy, there was no one who could play the long game better than he.

* * *

**Author's Notes**

**Funny story. Originally, this was going to be Chapter 6. But I wrote this one first just because the thoughts for this chapter came to me first, and I think it came out really well. Writing from the perspective of a evil mastermind is pretty fun. **

**Anyway, I think the story comes along better if I add some suspense here. It also allows me to introduce the Republic Commando elements earlier than I would have originally, and provides some insight on what happens to Rede before readers forget about him. Those of you who've read Imperial Commando know that he gets drafted into...well, if you haven't read it yet, I won't spoil it for you.  
**

**What happened to Tallis and Scout? Find out next chapter!**

**Tell me what you think of this chapter in the reviews!**


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